All posts tagged: travel story

Travelling with minor to Philippines

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Waiver of Exclusion Ground (WEG). If I had known this, I would have prepared PHP5,240 for extra fixed expenses during my travel to the Philippines and not be shocked by the sudden big amount of pesos I had to spend upon arriving at the airport. In Ringgit Malaysia, that would be about 400! On Dec 13 last year, I flew to the Philippines with my two nieces – aged 10 then – and my mom. It was a relaxing aeroplane journey until we had to go through immigration at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). It was 11.08pm then. Tired and couldn’t wait to go to our hotel. “Daughters?” asked the immigration officer as he skimmed through my passport and my nieces’ passport. “No. My nieces. I’m their aunt.” “Their parents, ma’am?” “Parents not travelling along. I have the authorisation letter.” The immigration officer took the letter and skimmed through. He then said something foreign. “Sorry? I don’t understand.” “Waiver…need to pay immigration, ma’am.” *** One important thing I learnt upon our arrival at NAIA: Non-Filipino …

The day I met my first travel companion

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Copenhagen, Denmark 15 Dec 2015 It was 6am when I woke up. The sky was dark but I could hear whispers, someone going up and down the bunk bed ladder, someone walking on tiptoe, a bathroom door being closed, and the tap water running. I knew everyone, except me, was wide awake and getting ready to go somewhere. But there I was, lying still and half awake. It was not until an hour later, that I finally got up and realised everyone had left. According to my guidebook, the Kronborg Slot opens from 10.30am to 5pm and adult entrance fee is 95kr. I grabbed my backpack and headed out for breakfast at Baresso Coffee. My plan was to take a train to Helsingor, a port town in the northern Zealand. The goals were to explore Kronborg castle and follow the footsteps of Hamlet, to see “bizarre faces” inside the Church of St Mary (Sankt Mariae Kirke), and to take a bus to Esrum Kloster, and to do other tourist activities worth doing. By the time my latte was half empty (and out of sheer boredom) I google-d Kronborg …

A traveler lost in translation

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How does it feel to travel alone to a country where you don’t speak the language and know no one? And the only language you bring is your own? When I traveled in Denmark, stopping a random person on the street for help was easy. I didn’t face a language barrier because most Danish people and travelers or tourists I bumped into spoke English until I met Cecelia.